[Recent advances in pharmacogenomics in oncology].

Progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis, together with the sequencing of the human genome and the availability of huge databases, bring new tools for the discovery and the evaluation of new potential targets for cancer therapy and for the individualisation of cancer chemotherapy as a function of the molecular characteristics of tumours. Targeting the genetic alterations of cancer cells appears feasible and the first successes of this approach allow to remain optimistic about the renewal of our therapeutic armamentarium. In addition, seeking for correlations between gene expression profiles and chemosensitivity has been performed on the in vitro models of the National Cancer Institute and may allow crucial improvements in the identification of patients who world best take advantage of a specific chemotherapy. Clinical trials, first on a retrospective basis, then performed prospectively, are implemented to validate this approach.